Big 12 commish: “smooth water’ would serve college athletics well

After churning feverishly the past three days, it was (thankfully) relatively quiet on the Florida State-to-the-Big 12 front on Tuesday.

And, as far as the new commissioner of the conference to which the Seminoles have been connected, it wouldn’t hurt for that quiet to continue for some time.

“My opinion,” soon-to-be-former Stanford athletic director and incoming Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby told USA Today, “is college athletics would be well served by some period of smooth water and not all of the angst and disorganization that goes with moves from one league to another.”

Bowlsby, who will officially take over the Big 12 reins in the middle of next month, did allow, unfortunately, that “[c]onference realignment will continue to be an issue and one we all have to be vigilant about” and that “I think the topic of expansion will be on every agenda going forward.” That’s not just a Big 12-specific issue stance, though; “it’s on every other conference’s agenda going forward, too.”

Bowlsby’s remarks come a day after FSU president Eric Barron made a case for his athletic programs to remain in the ACC and Big 12 commissioner emeritus Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds became the latest to state “[t]here’ve been no conversations between Florida State and the Big 12″, adding FSU is “a long ways away” in both distance and prospects of joining the conference.

Public statements from neither Bowlsby nor Barron nor Dodds in the here and now guarantees Florida State’s future is in the ACC and not the Big 12, of course. At the very least, though, they tap the brakes on the rampant speculation that’s engulfed the school and both conferences, and will allow for more rational — and out-of-the-public — discussion of an issue that is very much on the mind of at least one very powerful FSU entity.

Bowlsby’s comments about conference realignment are the FIRST from a power broker that make it a CERTAINTY and translates to: This is happening and since access to the 4 team playoff and the money it generates goes in to effect before the 2014 season, its going to happen by July/August 2013.